The Kat Moore Band: ‘Miss Understood’ Offers Moment Of Clarity

FORT WORTH, TX – “It’s easy to get lost on a dead end road,” Kat Moore wails on “Country Through And Through,” the ear-pleasing, hair-raising first single from her new album Miss Understood. The Dallas native’s third album serves notice – Moore and her band mates might be country through and through, but they’ve developed an edgy rock ‘n’ roll swagger to accompany their down-home sensibilities.

Miss Understood is steeped in the poignant ballads that earned Moore a devoted fan base after she turned pro in 2008. The band’s Texas roots run deep, and Moore stamps a Lone Star pedigree on everything she sings. “I live with shadows creeping around the corners of my soul,” she confesses on the self-penned “Shadows.” Moore is also a sucker for classic country, and her version of “There He Goes” ought to prompt Patsy Cline to offer a celestial high five.

But like Leann Rimes, another artist who created a buzz as a youngster on the local opry circuit, Moore is growing up quickly. So is her music. “Country Through And Through” is a perfect example. Few country songs begin with distorted banjo notes dancing lazily around a wall of guitar feedback while mumbled conversations ala Pink Floyd brew just beneath the surface. Eventually these elements merge with a wicked slide guitar to explode into a funky backwater groove that’s still firmly anchored in country roots. This exploratory and creative bent is nothing new to fans of The Kat Moore Band’s fiery live shows, where anything goes. But it’s a fresh component on her recordings and a clear indication that Moore and her band mates have become as comfortable and confident in the studio as they are on stage.

Jeff Prince, Fort Worth Weekly